Clock Ticks on Culpepper

For a guy so eager to file a grievance case against the Miami Dolphins, Daunte Culpepper's hearing date has been postponed again. This time not for a day, but for 15 of them. The new date, July 18th, is within two weeks of the opening days of training camp. With such a late hearing, Culpepper will have less time to work out a deal with his future team and prepare for the season.

Culpepper filed the grievance in hope that he would be released from his contract and made a free agent. Through the NFLPA, Culpepper and the Miami Dolphins agreed to a hearing, which was previously scheduled for Friday. After a postponement due to flight cancellations, due to bad weather, the hearing was once again postponed today. The postponement occurred today, but the hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, a day both sides thought would work out. But when the dust settled, the sides simply could not come together on Tuesday. The two sides then agreed on the new date.

"Every day the hearing is postponed is a day in which [Culpepper] misses the opportunity to be a free agent," noted NFLPA general counsel Richard Berthelsen, who is to represent the quarterback in the grievance action, before the latest delay. "Time becomes an issue."

Culpepper, the eight year veteran, will represent himself as his own agent, and testify in the hearings. The arbitrator in the hearing, John Freeick, was also the arbitrator last season in the grievance filed by Steve McNair against the Tennessee Titans. McNair had been barred from the Titans facilities, but two weeks after the hearing, Freeick forced the Titans to allow the veteran quarterback to use their training facilities. Shortly after the ruling, the Titans traded McNair to the Baltimore Ravens.

The situation will Culpepper appears to be somewhat different. Culpepper is allowed to further is knee rehabilitation in the Dolphins facilities. Similarly to the Titans, the Dolphins have stated they will not release Culpepper, but they will continue trade talks, with the Jacksonville Jaguars among others, interested in the quarterback. However, the Jaguars, who appear to be the most interested in Culpepper, have said they will only pursue him through free agency.

The Dolphins, throughout mini-camp, did not allow Culpepper to practice, for fear he could reinjure himself, causing contract controversy. Upset with the Dolphins franchise, Culpepper turned to the NFLPA for help. Culpepper wanted to be released, because in a trade, his contract would most likely have to be reconstructed, something Culpepper is not willing to do.

Three days after the NFLPA intervened, the union filed a grievance against the Dolphins. The hearing date was set soon after, but was postponed. The rest is history. Culpepper, 30, will not be traded. If the arbitrator somehow rules in favor of the Dolphins, who of course declined to comment, the 1999 first round pick may remain on the team through training camp until a trade is completed.

Brandon